FROM ASSEMBLY TO SERVING - SIV AT ESBE

2026-05-05

What makes an employee thrive for over two decades? For Siv Sundvall, the answer is simple: she has loved her job!

What makes an employee stay at the same workplace for more than two decades? For Siv, the answer is simple: she has thrived in her work and enjoyed the personal responsibility. After 23 years at ESBE, 19 of which were spent in the lunchroom, she has become a natural part of daily life for many colleagues. However, her journey at the company began at a completely different end of the factory.

How did it look here the first day you stepped through the door at ESBE? What is the biggest difference between then and now?
- The first day I started at ESBE, the department for assembly of mixing valves was located where the maintenance department is today. That’s where my career at the company began, and I stayed in that department for four years, Siv explains.

The biggest change for me came in 2007. That’s when management wanted to set up a proper lunchroom where cooked food would be served. Since I had previously worked in kitchens for 20 years, at both schools and restaurants, I was asked if I wanted to take on the task of starting up the operation. I said yes, and together with Tommy Lundström, we worked to get the kitchen up and running. That was 19 years ago now.

Unusual menus and a dramatic morning
During her years in the kitchen, Siv has seen quite a few dishes come and go, but some meals stand out more than others. Looking back, she thinks a meat stew that included liver, served about 15 years ago, was probably the strangest thing to land on the plates.
But it’s not just the menus that have left an impression. Some days at work have been more dramatic than others. Siv will never forget a December morning in 2023 when she was met by the smell of smoke in the corridor. It turned out that a smouldering fire had been lingering in a foil carton overnight. Although the fire extinguished itself, soot had managed to spread everywhere – from the kitchen and dining room to the toilets and changing rooms. Despite the extensive cleanup required, Siv managed to resolve the situation and keep the food service running for all her hungry colleagues.

How lunch works at ESBE
Every day, dishes are served from a set lunch menu ordered from a local restaurant. The food is delivered directly to the dining hall where Siv plates it, ready to be enjoyed along with a small salad buffet. Lunch is subsidized for all ESBE employees and is deducted directly from their salary to make it as convenient as possible.

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It is said that a factory is never stronger than its weakest link. How much do you think a tidy dining hall and a proper lunch break mean for employees to have the energy for the day?
- I think it means a lot, says Siv, and that it’s clean and neat!
Independence and security
Even though the lunchroom fills with people and conversation every lunch, Siv has experienced her work a bit like working in her own little world. Many people might think that you hear everything said at the tables when you’re in the kitchen, but it’s quite the opposite. The kitchen and the area behind the serving counter act as a sort of isolated cube, meaning she doesn’t hear much of what is said on the other side.
While working alone can have its challenges, she has appreciated the freedom and personal responsibility. During her time at ESBE, there has also been a special kind of security close at hand. Her husband, Leif, also works at the company. Sharing a workplace with her partner has never been an issue; on the contrary, she describes it as a positive experience that has contributed to an extra sense of security in daily life.

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Toward a well-deserved freedom
As Siv now enters retirement, we wonder if the internal clock will continue to ring for lunch service every day at half past eleven? But on that point, she is certain – no instinctive urge to stand in the lunchroom will appear.
Instead, a time awaits where she can control her own days – spending more time at the cottage in the country, heading out on motorcycle trips with Leif, and having the opportunity to travel the world! Even though both she and her husband Leif are retiring at the same time, the roles at home are likely to remain the same.
- I’ll still be the one doing the cooking, Siv notes, though she adds with a wink that she’ll try to get him to stand at the stove at least a few times a month.
We won’t have to miss her for too long, however; she has promised to drop by as a guest in the future, and we can count on seeing her at least at the Christmas celebrations.
Thank you, Siv, for keeping us full, happy, and in check for two decades.
We wish you a truly wonderful retirement!